The giving spirit and the economic power of US citizens, as demonstrated in Haiti, is genuinely remarkable. The vast majority of us can give something in an emergency, if only a few dollars, and we should. That we are able to so rapidly deploy a commitment of wealth and resources is almost magical. But magical thinking is part of the problem.

In advance of attending the Wine Basics class at Amavi, I developed a mantra: “Don’t chug the wine, don’t gulp the wine, don’t spill it on your face…again.”

But it didn’t work.

Barbara Salas is the first woman to be appointed chief of the 130-year-old Santa Fe Fire Department. She previously broke similar ground as the first female fire marshal. Now that she’s the top dog at Fire Station No. 1, we asked Salas to give SFR her own list of No. 1s.

I’m kind of a survival of the fittest advocate, so my solution to people stopping on the train tracks is to outfit the Rail Runner with deluxe, spike-riddled cowcatchers complete with saw blades and lasers. We'd eventually be whittled down to a population that’s smart enough to avoid stopping on the tracks and, with luck, the instinct would become part of our genetic code.

The newly opened Casablanca restaurant at the corner of W. San Francisco Street and Burro Alley is still getting off the ground, but its Mediterranean presence in downtown Santa Fe inspires a tahini-soaked daydream.

As the Jan. 19 start of the legislative session looms over us like an ugly, unstoppable avalanche, lawmakers appear to have signaled their distaste for at least one unappetizing budget fix: reinstating a tax on food. There are better ways to climb toward a balanced budget, all of which are going to opposed by forces that would rather put the burden on poor and working families.

Opening a bar in Santa Fe, given that New Mexico’s liquor laws appear to have been drafted in 17th-century Salem, is just stupid. Add the pricey rents and it’s borderline mental illness. Opening a restaurant here is an equally unsound endeavor, but with lower profit margins. Open both and you've got Corazón.

After the Center for Contemporary Arts’ board of directors informed staff just before Christmas that the venerable nonprofit arts organization would shut its doors at the end of 2009, it hollered “punk’d!” Oh well, I suppose it wouldn’t be the holidays without CCA almost closing.

Soylent Green is people and chile comes in condiment packets.

The Santa Fe 400th Anniversary website confirms that the kickoff event to its 16-month-long commem-oration was a resounding success. In fact, pictures of the more than 20,000 visitors will be posted shortly! Problem is, the kickoff event was the first weekend in September. Not only are there still no pictures on the website, but there’s no money in the coffers.